Peace in the Midst of the Chaos

Psalm 143:8 "Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life."

This day promises to bring chaos. Before I ever got off the mattress on the floor this morning, I knew that today would be hectic. I promise to share more details later as to why I'm sleeping on a mattress on the floor, but for now, just let me say, life is crazy busy for our family.

We're in transition...and it's a good transition. But it's crazy. I'm uncertain right now where we're spending the night. In fact, I'm uncertain where we're staying for the next 4 weeks! Yikes! Yes, yikes. We have sold our home due to the fact that my husband got a promotion and a transfer at one time. Yay! But then, we sold our house in only a day and a half! We have nowhere to go, and our new house doesn't close for another month. The relocation department doesn't seem to be in a big hurry, and they don't seem to care that we're displaced for the next 4 weeks...starting, ahem...TODAY.

We're hurriedly trying to clean our home and say goodbye to friends we've made. It's sad, hard, exciting, and did I mention...crazy, all at one time!

When I got up this morning, I immediately drank my Advocare Spark and set about cleaning, organizing, throwing out, and loading up things, frantic to get things accomplished. As my family peacefully slept, I couldn't help but feel blessed as I watched them, all in a line on mattresses in my bedroom floor. But I needed their help! Grudgingly, they got up, only to discover that we had nothing for breakfast. In my frantic cleaning mode last night, I gave all of our food away to the neighbor, secretly patting myself on the back for doing a good deed and not letting the food go to waste. I didn't think about the fact that there would be nothing for breakfast. My husband went to grab some biscuits, I barked orders for the kids to get in the tub so that I could clean the bathroom, and I hastily continued my work.

The whole time, though, I'm concerned about the fact that the relocation department hasn't confirmed our temporary housing arrangements. I'm packing to go somewhere....I just don't know where. And for all of you women out there...you know how hard it is to pack to go to an unknown place! We ate our biscuits, my inwardly cringing at the calorie count, but all the while, I kept feeling the pull of the Lord. I have so much to do, yet, I needed, wanted, longed to spend time with my Lord.

So I opened my Bible here to Psalm 143, and I rested on verse 8, "Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life." Immediately I was reminded that every. single. morning. brings me Word of His unfailing love. Long ago, I put my trust in God, and I continue to trust Him every. single. day.

Am I trusting in the relocation department? Am I trusting in two houses, made my brick and wood? Am I trusting in my ability to get it all together? Am I trusting in my bank account to pay all of the unexpected expenses?

But earlier in the chapter, verse 5 speaks as well, "I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done."

Over and over in my life, I've seen His hands at work. He's worked things out, and moved in ways that I never couldn't imagined for myself. He's blessed me beyond measure and more abundantly than I could've asked. How could I be afraid now?

He's brought us so far. He won't fail now!

What is going on in your life right now? Has your morning been hectic even before you've gotten out of bed? Invest the time to spend with Him. I can't promise that your day with go more smoothly, but I can promise peace in the midst of the chaos.

Weight Lifting is Boring

1 Peter 5:10 “In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.” NLT

There’s one aspect of physical fitness that I have not yet learned to embrace. Running, cycling, endurance, sit-ups, calisthenics, and nutrition in general were all struggles, but with time, I’ve conquered and learned to love them. However, weight lifting...I don’t like it. It’s hard. It’s boring. And it hurts....for days at a time. I just don’t understand it, I guess. I mean, you just stand there, doing the same thing over and over again, and there’s nothing to do to distract your attention from the fact that your internal flesh is ripping at that very moment. It hurts too. Sore muscles are a good thing when I think of how my workout must’ve really been a great one. But when it hurts for days at a time, and it’s already time for your next weight building session, I despise it. In fact, I’ve neglected that part of my fitness journey more than I’ve actually performed it because, in case I didn’t mention...it’s hard, it’s boring, and it hurts. 

Strength building in our spiritual life is kind of the same way. It’s hard, it’s boring, and most of all, it hurts. But how do we get stronger in our spiritual life, and how do we learn to trust God? It’s only through trials that we learn how to trust. It’s only when I face hardship in my life today that I get to experience the faithfulness of God. Oh, it’s good when I remember all of the times God’s been faithful and all of the times that He’s brought me through the storms of life. But today when I face new obstacles that I hadn’t anticipated, I have a greater strength in knowing that the same God who has always been faithful is the same God that stands with me today. 

In our Scripture, Peter reminds the church as a whole that sufferings on this earth are only temporary, and in fact, are only momentary compared with the span of eternity. We can rest assured that after we have “suffered a little while,” that He will place us then on a firm foundation. It’s only through the hardships of life, holding to the faithful hand of God, that we become stronger in Him. 

As I lift weights, I can trust that this hard, boring, hurting exercise is necessary if I want to grow and stay strong. It’s not enough for me to simply run or ride my bicycle, simply burning calories, but if I want to be physically strong, I have to go through some strength training. Yes, it is hard, boring, and painful, but it’s only momentary, and will provide me with strength.

Are you facing a hardship today? What trials are you facing that seem so painful right now? Remember, they’re only temporary. And from these trials, you will get stronger!

Encouragement for Today

Proverbs 31:17 “She girds herself with strength and makes her arms strong.” NASB

James 1:12 “God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” NLT

Romans 8:18 “Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.” NLT

The Sabbath Rest

Genesis 2:2-3 “On the seventh day, having finished his task, God rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from his work of creation.” NLT

I just didn’t see how this was going to work. I had learned during my first few days of my new lifestyle that weight loss really boiled down to calories in/calories out. And I realized that the more calories I burned through activity, the greater my calorie deficit would be; therefore, that would equate to more weight loss. But I was stuck this day because there was an internal struggle occurring once again. I knew that today was my Sabbath, a day my family worshipped together and rested from our work. But I was having a major dilema as well, trying to figure out if that meant exercise too. I mean, honestly, I had extra time on Sundays to work out, and I could really put some effort into it today! In addition, I reasoned that since I’d be spending time sitting in a pew and not up cleaning my house, there would be more calories that I wouldn’t be burning that day. It was decided then, that when I returned from church, I would work out. God understood after all. He wants me to care for my body!

I went 21 days straight working out, lifting weights, and having a calorie deficit of 1000/day until I realized that something wasn’t right. I was tired and sore, and I felt like I had an injury in my knee. But I kept pushing. Finally I resorted to the internet to search out my problem. I thought I was doing well, but obviously I had gone wrong somewhere. I kept reading over and over from multiple reputable websites where I needed to rest one day a week from working out in order to give my body time to recover and get ready for another week of physical activity. My muscles needed to repair, and I needed to be rejuvenated in my mind to face the mental battle I would have that week when I felt like giving up. Still not convinced that it was worth it, hesitantly I gave in to rest from workouts one day a week. To my amazement, that one day was I needed to restore me to my best.

God Himself rested. From the beginning of creation, He instituted a day of rest. This seven-day framework structured Israel’s week, with the last day set aside as holy. It was to be different than the rest of the week. The first six days they were to work and live unto Him, but on the seventh day, they were to cease from their labors and worship Him. 

In today’s society, we want to be seen as productive and responsible members of society. The demands on modern life keep us busy and stressed out, and we need every minute possible to accomplish as much as possible. But God didn’t design us in this way. He created us for work, but He also created us for rest. He even gave us time to rest! I find it amazing that a calendar week correlates perfectly with the way our bodies were designed.

I myself have chosen Sunday as my rest day. It’s a day of ministry for my family, which actually keeps us too busy to do much else anyway. Our day to rest from our jobs and other work comes another day during the week. Whatever day works out best to cease workouts is fine, but ensure that you’re taking that time to restore and rejuvenate your mind, body, and soul. You were designed for it!

Take some time and read the creation story as revealed in Genesis chapters 1-2. Soak in the refreshing knowledge that God has handcrafted us in His image. 

Encouragement for Today

Exodus 23:11 “but let the land rest and lie fallow during the seventh year. Then let the poor among you harvest any volunteer crop that may come up. Leave the rest for the animals to eat. The same applies to your vineyards and olive groves.” NLT

Psalm 127:2 “It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.” NLT

Preparation

Matthew 24:43 “Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.” NLT

Nothing to eat! I had just come home from work on a hot, humid summer day and was trying to make dinner plans. Nothing sounded good, and I was tired. Normally organized, I would at least make a mental plan for dinner earlier in the day so that things wouldn’t take so long once I’d arrived home. But today there was no mental plans happening outside of mortgage escrow, my current profession. There was no meat thawed, my lettuce was wilted, and I was tempted to just order pizza. That had been my go-to before...before I asked Jesus to help me, I thought. I had asked for Him to take control of this area of my life only a week before, and now here I was, considering pizza of all things. 

I had prayed prayers many times before over a pizza dinner. “Lord bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies, and our bodies to your service.” It’s laughable now that we pray those kind of prayers. If that’s the food that’s provided, then by all means be thankful for it. But in reality, we somehow spiritualize our bad eating choices and ask God to magically change the molecular structure! That night, there was a first prayer uttered that hasn’t gone unrepeated since. “Lord, please help me resist the temptation for pizza.” In that moment, I’m not kidding, God brought to mind a recipe I had read a few days before, and most of the ingredients were already on hand. I just had to run out to get a couple of things around the corner. 

I was thankful that God had delivered me from the temptation, but inside I was frustrated at myself for the huge struggle that had just occurred in my head. I realized that if I had only prepared ahead of time, the temptation wouldn’t have been so great. Don’t get me wrong; every time I open my mailbox and retrieve pizza coupons, there’s still a struggle there as to whether or not to throw them in the trash can. 

But preparation is truly the key. Every week before I go grocery shopping, I jot down a quick meal list so I at least have a rough plan in mind for things to buy. Having healthy ingredients on hand and readily at my disposal vastly cuts down on resorting to a quick fix in a drive-thru. Personally, every day, I make an eating plan for myself, calculating my nutrition and activity so I know how I’m doing and ensure that I’m able to stand against temptation. I even go so far as to cut up things like cantaloupe and watermelon and put them in a bowl in the refrigerator so they are quickly available when my sweet tooth takes over. I boil a few eggs every few days, peel them, and put them in a plastic baggie in the refrigerator. 

But things happen. Work takes longer than normal that day, traffic is backed-up, or someone gets sick, and we end up having to fill a need quickly. If we have yogurt cups, fruit, and almonds on hand, trust me, we can be ready for anything!

In our text today, we see Jesus speaking about His second coming. He speaks of the time when the Son of Man will come back for His church, and no one knows the time or the hour. The Scripture says that, unexpectedly, He will appear to claim those who have been faithful, and there are those who will be unprepared. Those who have not accepted Him as their Savior and have not lived a life pleasing to Him will be left. The Day of Judgment is coming, and no one knows the day or time. People who spend much time trying to figure out when/where He’s coming are only spinning their wheels and wasting valuable time. We must simply be prepared. That’s all He asks. Trust Him as your Savior and live a life pleasing to Him! Share Him with others so that they may be prepared too. When He comes, we’ll wish we had done more.

Are you prepared? Have you accepted Him as your Savior, or are you thinking that you’ve still got time? The Scripture is clear. “The Son of Man will come when least expected.”


Take some time today to read through Matthew chapters 24-25. He’s coming!

Encouragement for Today:

2 Timothy 2:15 “Work hard so that you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.” NLT

Matthew 7:13-14 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” NLT

1 Corinthians 2:9b “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” NLT

Ideas for Preparation

1. Search blogs like skinnytaste.com and Pinterest for healthy recipes. Print them off and have them readily available.
2. Chop vegetables ahead of time for recipes so that they come together quickly when you’re ready to prepare.
3. Brown ground turkey/lean ground beef and put in a sealable bowl.
4. Make individual salads ahead of time and put them in the refrigerator.
5. Cut up melons.
6. Make things like chicken salad and tuna salad and store in the refrigerator.
7. Make sure there are healthy snack options waiting in the cupboard before a craving hits.
8. Get rid of everything that is unhealthy in the house. 
9. Boil eggs and peel them.
10. When bananas are going bad, I peel them and freeze them. Frozen bananas work well in smoothies.
11. When I’m grilling chicken, I grill double the amount to have it available for chicken salad and maybe tomorrow night’s dinner.
12. When eating out, check the nutrition facts online beforehand. Make a plan of what you’re going to order before you get there so as not to cave to temptation when faced with a plethora of unhealthy delicacies.
13. When I make a big pot of soup or chili, I freeze half of it in individual freezer bags. That’s portion control at its finest!

Thanksgiving

There are a lot of people on Facebook right now giving thanks every day during the day of November for something or someone in their life. It's refreshing really, to read thankful comments as opposed to complaints, grumbles, bickering, and just down-right nastiness.

I have noticed however, that this being the 13th day of the month, a lot of people have dropped off the "thankful wagon." Are we really a people in the United States that is so consumed with having more that we've run out of things for which to be thankful? Have we gotten so used to the luxuries of life that we don't even notice them anymore and we're no longer thankful?

These last few months have been hard, and I'm having more hard days it seems than good ones. I could start a list here of the things that are wrong, and honestly, I have made lists before in all the ways I'm failing. No joke. My list-making tendencies took over that day. But I won't give in to the tricks of the enemy. He wants me to focus on the negative and overlook the sometimes small blessings of everyday life.

Back to the Facebook thankfulness thing...I honestly am running out of big things to be thankful for. But does it really matter if they're grand, big, and impressive? God meets our needs in the smallest of ways sometimes, and really, does He even owe us anything at all?

So here it is. Next week, we will celebrate the American holiday of Thanksgiving. On that day, my husband, my kids, and I will remember the American holiday, but I am committed more than ever that they will understand what it really means to be thankful. To drive home the concept, I'm going to give a prize to the kid who says, "Thank you," the most during the day. They just don't know it yet.

We will make paper bag Indian vests, Indian headdresses, paper turkeys, paper pilgrim hats, and do as much decorating as my crayon drawer can afford. I will roast a turkey, make southern cornbread dressing, and we'll be miserable all afternoon after eating, but that night, Heath will go to work. Instead of complaining about him having to work on a holiday, we'll be thankful he has a job. The next day, we'll go stand in line at Cabela's to get his gift, and instead of complaining about the crowds, we'll be thankful for the good sale, and we'll be thankful we have the money to purchase a gift of non-necessity.

We have a tendency, even in the Christian tradition, to only request prayer for sickness, negative things, and fear that our nation is turning bad. But what if we asked people to help us thank God for the blessings we've received this year. I think the attitude of gratitude might show just a little more.

A Little Boy's Lunch

This morning I awoke with a migraine. Today is NOT the day to have a migraine.

This summer, I have the unique privilege of watching a 6 year old boy while his parents work during the day. In addition to my own 2 kids and Nolan, I was to be joined this morning by a couple of other kids for our Backyard Bible School. BBS meets at my house this week, and today's craft was especially physically taxing for me. Paint was involved...enough said.

When I came downstairs, I immediately took some Aleve, hoping that the pain would subside enough for me to function. Aleve didn't really seem to interested in helping me out, but I trudged through the morning anyway, hoping I could just get through BBS.

The time came.

I started the lesson which was centered around the Scriptures where Jesus feeds the multitude, by blessing the boy's lunch of fish and bread. The point I tried to make to the kids was two-fold. The same God who performed the miracle of making the food stretch enough to feed 5000 with some left over, is the same God we still serve today. If he can make a boy's lunch stretch, He can do miracles with what we have to offer as well.

The second point I made to the kids is that God cares about every little detail of our lives...even right down to the lunch menu. Nothing is too insignificant for God to care about and respond.

As I tried to keep my head from splitting open, I realized that right then and there, God was doing just those miracles in me. He took what little I had to offer this morning and stretched it, and He blessed it! Not only that, God cares that my head hurts! There's really no reason for the heaches. They just come and go as they please. I really don't have any control over them, but He does!

Back to the blessing of the lesson part...   A 6 year old girl responded! The pressures that kids face to today are tremendous. She apparently was having a hard time and accepted the promise today of a loving God who cares, understands, and responds to our needs.

God is faithful! And I praise His Name!

P. S. My headache is almost all gone!